The funniest things is, they can trot out Dan Rather, a disgraced anchor who was caught trying to push through unverified, completely bogus fake news and have him say it's irresponsible that the president keeps pushing this fake news narrative...and they're so oblivious to the facts they don't understand the public looks at each other and bursts out in laughter at their lack of awareness.

Just read an intersting piece on how a church did not have service today because "why bother, no one comes anyway?" of the long weekend. The link was not copyable, but it discussed that the average attendance was about 1200 at each of the 2 Sunday sessions, and last year they averaged 250 on Memorial Day weekend.

Two interesting thoughts:

1. Volunteers and paid staff love it. They basically work just as hard whether it's a full house or empty. They love being able to be regular people and plan long weekends.

2. The comments were mixed...many expressing jealousy and admiration, with others in complete denial. One summed it up perfectly...saying their church has seen attendance fall by 50% in the last 5 years, and now they see this successful growing church not even bother showing up...and still be in great shape.

They never bother adding 2+2 to figure out those things go together. Why would folks go to a high strung, high stress place when other options exist?

One said last winter, bad weather prevented all but the most dedicated from attending, but they had 2 great sessions...one with 7 and one with a single family of 4.

The comment following that one was "I can only imagine how fun those 11 people must be." Heh.

Apparently the Saturday morning of a three-day weekend is like Black Friday at Kwik Trip. Food stacked 2 feet high on tables. Line is a dozen deep. Gal that makes the breakfast sandwiches is putting them out onto the warming and holding area 3 at a time, sweating like a hooker in church diffusing a bomb in Mississippi on a July afternoon.

A personal note...a year ago today, a friend of mine who was going
through a rough stretch saw her life change forever. I had no idea what
was going on, and I underestimated the depth of her issues. As she has
since told me, there's nothing you can do to help someone unless that
person wants to get better. I knew close to zero about what was going
on, except the bare minimum you can find out online.

I
never even thought about it. I wrote to her often and accepted her phone
calls. For much of that time, I was the only person that did. Today,
365 days later, she is healthy, working, and I couldn't be more proud of
her. A long time ago, she either wrote or said:

You believed in me even when I didn't believe in myself.

Damn right I did. One of the greatest compliments I have ever received was a 5 word text from her a few months ago. It read:

You are loyal as f%#k.

She'll
never challenge Billy Shakespeare's work. A picture may be worth a
thousand words, but I wouldn't trade those 5 words for a rainbow and a
unicorn complete with notarized ownership paperwork.

As
most of us are preparing to enjoy a long weekend and give silent
respect to our military and our fallen heroes, don't be afraid to give a
damn about someone. Even someone who others have given up on.
Sometimes, it only takes one person to make a difference.

Note they didn't believe in supply and demand or free markets then either. A lot of thugs and criminals back in the day were in the dairy business, it would appear. Note the faux outrage that folks have today at the no violence whatsoever President Trump rallies. The only violence, of course, was when the Sanders' supporters were brought in back during the campaign.

Just coincidence, of course. He's a socialist, but completely above the violence socialism naturally brings with it. :)

I recall hearing growing up the depression was not rough on agriculture at all, because people still had to eat. A bit romanticized, I'm sure. I think that is often the case as people see farmers of that era more as self sufficient gardeners, almost like those who sell their excess at farmer's markets today. The refrigeration of that era did not allow for much preservation however. Not safely at least.

They don't give a damn about blacks, women, racism, sexual assault, or anything else. They only care about power and taking more money from the successful. And with their recent love of a gas tax increase, the unsuccessful too.

(Taylor) Sparks released by Reds. He was a second-round draft pick for Cincinnati in 2014, selected
58th overall out of UC Irvine. Heralded for his speed, athleticism, and
third base glovework, Sparks didn’t generate consistent results at the
plate over six seasons in the Reds’ farm system, with just a
.217/.291/.389 slash line over 1940 career plate appearances in the
minors.

Notice the hit tool was never there, and never developed. It's like dating an ugly girl who can cook and is fun, and hoping the looks show up at 30.

Lots of luck with all that.

As for Sparks, if he has the defense to play 2B and SS, a .300/.400 line in AAA is probably pretty similar to what many utility infielders did at that level.

I would assume the Hiura move is, in part at least, due to the Crew having 2 days off next week. It would seem likely he would take a pitcher's spot, unless they want to let Shaw go down to play every day in a no pressure situation.

The irony? The Dems still think they are on the offensive. In reality, they broke the law in numerous ways, from illegal warrants to Clinton using an unsecured email to Obama insisting he knew nothing about said unsecured email despite using a pseudonym to communicate with her.

This is exactly what I love to see. When you're willing to overlook the 1A, 2A, and that pesky "innocent until proven guilty," and "the accused has a right to counsel" stuff...no one is safe if you have the "wrong" political views.

Guess what? That pushes the indys and moderates strongly to the right, because they know full well they might be next.

When it's all about politics and you don't really believe in anything, it turns off everyone except those consumed with hatred.

I just got home from the hospital, the Rambling wife is hoping to come home tomorrow, after a planned surgery last WED and an unplanned surgery on FRI.

Thank you for your concern and emails/tweets of support.

By the way, this may be the worst announcing group in the history of time. The Rambling cocker spaniel would not suck any more, and not only could he not talk and knew nothing about baseball; he's been dead for 4+ years.

I have been at the hospital.much of the time since WED. The Rambling wife had surgery WED and again yesterday, as they had to redo something due to inflammation causing an issue.

There is scheduled stuff popping up. I "watched" the game yesterday on Gameday, easy to win when you don't give up any runs.

If you are working this weekend or just doing stuff you would rather not, I know the feeling. Let's hope she is able to recover. They mentioned a possible Monday discharge. She has little pain or nausea this time, at least.

The amazing thing is the way a complete moron like Meyers can happily defend a raging anti Semite just because she has a D after her name, and no one blinks an eye. And attack Meghan McCain because she has the audacity to point that out.

They defend their own, no matter how offensive. That's their biggest strength... and their biggest weakness.

Rambling wife had surgery today, to hopefully alleviate pain and nausea. She has had a blockage in her stomach/small intestine for over 6 months. Efforts to stretch it out were temporary fixes at best. Hopefully, the operation works as they think it will.

The funny thing about this is it doesn't make any difference how you arrange who pitches what innings. They got 9 scoreless innings out of 3 pitchers. It doesn't really matter who pitches what. Is it a mental thing? Maybe.

Notice how the unpatriotic females on the left seem to really, really struggle when they are asked to tell the truth. Their cult like tales read like pure fiction, and the old media is forced to pretend they did not notice.

This reminds me of the tweets that pop up every time anyone in MLB dies. Every writer immediately jumps on and proclaims that the deceased was one of the best people to ever exist.

Only the good die young, as William Joel once told us.

I have no idea if Chris Young is brilliant or an idiot. He was a "smart" pitcher, so I assume he's probably a pretty wise fella. But to pretend some dude, one of dozens with figurehead positions at the MLB office, is Stephen Hawking without the physical issues, seems a bit silly.

I recall a FB friend of mine posting a meme that said "When I die, please don't say I brightened the room when I walked into it. I don't even like you."

About the only question if how many fresh arms the Brewers will have in the bullpen today. Their 40 man options are limited, but Jay Jackson could well be removed from the 40 with little fanfare. He's a solid AAA vet but those are not rare.

I never wonder about being on the right side, as I thought it out before choosing one. I'm a believer in capitalism, the free market, the Constitution, and not punishing people because they're more successful than you.

But if I did, I would remember the military is overwhelmingly conservative and GOP. They are the finest people in the finest nation to ever exist.

I'm a contrarian. Several of the You Tube channels I enjoy involve farming...though almost all beef and crop operations. I always assume that's because of the time commitment involved with dairying.

One said this last year.

Why are we getting back into Holstein bottle calves? Well, they're so cheap right now, it's hard not to. Often, the best time to get into something is when others are getting out.

Famed investor Jim Rogers has been buying farmland for the past 10 years, all over the world. He supposedly owns thousands...perhaps millions of acres in Brazil and Argentina. And despite the fact everyone insists crop and beef prices are too low...someone keeps buying new machinery and land. Heck, even 10 year old tractors and equipment cost more than many houses.

The one thing that amazes me about those You Tube channels? The comments are always full of people, no matter how small or ragtag the operation, that comment how lucky the farmer is, and how they hope to buy a small operation soon, that they hope to make their full time job in a few years.

One of my favorites, Veeser Cattle Company, is a gent in the UP that works half time for a railroad or building company and is hoping to build a cow/calf beef operation. Ben is a straight shooter, he talks about calves dying, how hard it is working in bad weather, and so on. But it's tough to deny his excitement, when he rents more ground or buys more cattle. He gets a little help from his dad, as he leaves SUN and returns WED evenings, but he works long hours and you can tell he loves what he does.

Agriculture has a lot of appeal to those who dislike city living, and see it as a way to be an independent business person.9 I think many see the bumps in prices too (after the NE blizzard and floods, up to 2M animals died, and beef prices and grain futures jumped up...people notice the increases and tend to ignore the decreases).

Al--So, since you have the day off together, you got plans? Trista--Gotta renew my plan. I'm out of data and it goes SO SLOW!Al--Didn't you just add data a week ago? Trista--Last Saturday. Used it all. Al--You go through data like I go through a platter of sweets meant to last all weekend. Trista--LOL. You too funny.

That's why the women were all over me when I was single. Had to pick one just so I could get some rest.

Al,Reading about your trip to Atlanta made me think of your posts about your dog. (To be clear, no offense to Trista, who is mighty cute.) You could tell by every word how much you adored that dog, and I felt the same way reading those stories.

You pass yourself off as a grumpy old fart, much like myself, but by God, we're loyal and dedicated, we just don't give a f**k about the same s**t that the liberal media does. I don't care about some transgender "woman" beating real women in a sprint. My heart doesn't skip a beat at the thought of it not being fair to the transgender people if I say they should not be on the same track. One guy I hang out with says it best, "I'd like to care, but I'm busy working for a living."Go visit her again Al, I love reading about it. Tim

I promised her I'd go get her when she comes home to WI, Tim. I hope that happens someday. I can honestly imagine her walking in without knocking and starting in on a complaint before she even says hello. She'll never change.

We've known this for 2+ years. It was in the book Shattered, about the Hillary campaign fiasco. We also know she did not concede election night because she was falling down drunk and yelling at her staff. The old media won't report it, but everything else that was said in the book was true, so I'm sure that is too.

I mean, she's a lush. Look at her walk up stairs. She probably drinks to numb the pain from whatever ailment she has that she won't admit to having. She wears several layers of clothes in the heat of the Manhattan summer to hide a back brace or something she has to wear. She's sick and stupid.

This is about my trip to Atlanta a few weeks ago. Background can be found here that was posted yesterday, including a pic that apparently makes folks think I'm not hideous and she's quite attractive, per my email and Twitter response. The latter is true.

Also, a quick note...I was vague on several details yesterday. That was intentional. I'm not going to say anything that would even remotely sound critical or disrespectful of Trista. I would follow her to hell and back. I would defend her to the death even if I knew she was wrong. We're not going there.

Anyway, posting in bullet style, because I hate going in order...

---Atlanta is almost exactly 1000 miles from my house. I put on almost exactly 2100 miles on the trip.

--I left THU about 1PM, just as the Brewers' opener was starting. I got home MON about 5PM. Yes, that's a long trek in 100 hours.

--I texted Trista the first night and told her I was in southern IL, and I was well over halfway. She said "Yeah, IL is really long. It goes on forever." My reply was yes, it was like a bad relationship. She thought that was really funny and mentioned it a couple times when I was there. It was just a throwaway line, but if she thought it was good, you might too.

--I woke up the next morning about 4 and could not get back to sleep, so about 4:40, I showered, loaded up, and hit the road about 5:15. It was still another 45-60 minutes until I hit Kentucky.

--I still have not got an answer on this, but I can't recall if I asked my HS classmate who lives in KY or not. All along the interstate in KY, tires are everywhere. Often, 2 or more together. My guess would be there is a sizable "tire disposal fee" there, so many folks simply throw them in the back of their truck and dump them for free when they buy new ones.

--Just as puzzling, when I hit the TN state line, the garbage along the road multiplied dramatically. Again, I can only guess, but I assume they do not have any companies sponsoring roadside cleanup and it shows.

--My timing was terrible in that I hit rush hour in Nashville and Chattanooga. I also hit rush hour in Atlanta, because it's always rush hour in Atlanta. Trista posted a meme once that said "Atlanta is an hour from Atlanta." Basically, it just means even when you're close, it still takes a long time to get there.

--I got there about 3 Friday, way early because she was working FRI night anyway. I thought about getting in touch with a former roommate of her's that I had chatted with online several times. I decided against it, because it seemed like it would be "creepy." Since then, I told her I thought of it, and she insists she would have loved it and loved to have gone out to dinner with me. This is why I was single so often (though I like to think it's because I wasn't easy).

--However, because of that, I was available when Trista's boyfriend texted and asked what hotel I was at, and then if he could stop over and introduce himself, as we had never met, just texted a couple times. I was pretty impressed by this, as it seemed very polite. Trista told me the next day that he admitted he was "very nervous." I'm not really sure why, but I assume it has something to do with the fact I'm 16 years older than her (I was getting my license about the time she was born), and while I never thought of myself as a father figure (mainly due to my tremendous immaturity), I suppose, age wise, it's easy to see it that way.

--Due to her various program requirements not being waived as she had hoped, and some bad luck on Sunday, we were not able to spend as much time together as we had hoped. However, I had a wonderful time. We had both laughed about it, but we had never spent nonworking time together in our lives, except for on the phone or online. We joked about looking stupidly at each other until one of us began texting as a way to break the awkwardness. We were fine, no problem at all. We stopped at Walmart SAT afternoon, and we were in sight of each other but maybe 30 feet apart. I sent her a text, and she immediately grabbed her phone, in hindsight, probably giddy, assuming it was the boyfriend instead of the old guy. She read it, and looked at me with a combination smile and smirk, and rolled her eyes at me, trying unsuccessfully not to giggle. I doubt I will ever forget that. It sums up our friendship perfectly. Neither of us are politically correct, neither of us worry about offending anyone. We say stupid stuff. And neither of us gives a damn about your approval, you joyless cretin. We support each other, but we laugh. A lot.

--I have to mention the Rambling wife. Not many women are confident enough in their own skin to approve such a trip. She never flinched. She knows how close Trista and I have become. I would say if you don't trust your spouse to do so, your marriage sucks. At least, it isn't nearly as strong as ours.

--My God, the pollen. It floats in the air all around you. I checked the weather a couple days before I left, did not even pack any pants, just shorts. Below the forecast it said "POLLEN ALERT!" It sticks to cars, the ground, everything. Also, bees EVERYWHERE. In groups of 10 and 15.

--I remembered this from our honeymoon, but Tennessee is a beautiful state, and reminds me a lot of Wisconsin. Hills, trees, wildflowers. On several occasions, I have questioned why it is not a more popular retirement state.

--If you ever wonder what messes up the roads, they were better the further south I went. However, even in GA, they were not that much better than in WI, though granted, I was on nothing but interstates.

Petricka and Wilson both clear waivers and agree to go to San Antonio. Both could have declined and become free agents. I assume both made gentlemen's agreements with Stearns that if a team wants to put them in the majors, Stearns will either promote them to MIL or let them go so they can be paid as a big leaguer. Such deals are common with veteran players, as they can play AAA ball anywhere. One or both may be back soon if they find their stride at AAA. They do have the headache of finding a 40 man spot however. That makes it more difficult to ride the shuttle.

On the opening weekend of the Brewers' season, I drove to Atlanta to visit my friend Trista, who is the good looking one that does not frighten small children in the above picture. I wrote about the weekend on Facebook, but never talked about it here. First, the background.

We worked together back when I was a retail manager back in...oof...2007. She temped for me a few days in 2014 when I was working in sales, just before she moved to GA. Since then, all of our communication has been online, on the phone, or through the post office. We talked online some in 2016, and then kind of lost touch again until 2018, when she hit a bit of a rough stretch. It's kind of strange...we are both on record as hating most everyone. Somehow, we just kind of got along, as we had in the past. We would comment on each other's posts, and often continue talking on Messenger. As we talked about when I was in Georgia, the turning point was an illness she suffered in MAR2018, which required a hospital stay. We chatted one day, she said she felt awful. I noticed she was not online the next day, and the next day she sent a "I'm in the hospital" message. We chatted a while, and I told her to get some rest and we would talk later.

{Quick note, "chat" means phone text or typing online, while "talk" means speak on the phone. We rarely actually talk, except when limited. When we say talk, we often just mean chat, to be honest.}

I had spoken to her on the phone a week or so before, so later, I went to pick up our pizzas for supper and called her from the parking lot. We only spoke a few minutes, but we both remembered that call when we were in Atlanta. For me, it was the first time I admitted, to myself, that this was not just a person I used to work with. She meant far more to me than that. She said that when she hung up the phone, for the first time, she realized that I really cared about her.

A couple days later, she was released, and another memorable moment took place...she went home and did not fill her scrip, since she was so tired. I begged her to do so, and she said she would in the morning. I kept pushing, and she ignored my pleas. I finally gave up, wondering why the hell I even tried. The next day, we chatted about noon, and here's the gist of our chat:

Al--Hey. (yes, I am pretty good with words)

Trista--Hey.

Al--How you feel?

Trista--Tired. But ok. I picked up my medicine this morning.

Al--Good.

Trista--I'm still alive!

Al--Heh. You must be feeling better, smart ass.

Trista--You know me so well.

I told her a month ago I realized then she would frustrate me to no end. But I never thought of "quitting" her. She surprised me mightily by telling me she remembered it in a different manner. She said she appreciated my concern, as for the first time in that entire scary 6 day episode, she felt like someone cared if she lived or died. Oddly, something she has said to me often sounds similar..."Thank you for caring so much." As someone who admits, and is very proud actually, of not giving a rat's behind about hardly anyone or anything, I admit, I don't understand it. Neither of us do. We have laughed and shook our heads often. We just click.

The goofiest thing is no one seems to believe us when we tell them there's nothing physical or beyond platonic about it. She told me once she began telling a friend about me and after 15 minutes or so, she turned away in disbelief, not really thinking she was hearing the truth. I am happily married to the greatest woman I've ever met. The Rambling wife rolls her eyes, but doesn't really bother having an opinion about the friendship. She knows she has nothing to worry about.

Trista's divorced, and has been involved in some painful relationships. She did not have a utopian upbringing. Through it all, she is almost always positive and makes it easy to believe in her. I still remember parts of her job interview...from a dozen years ago.

Last May, our relationship changed due to circumstance. She disappeared from online, and I googled her and searched until I found her. I never imagined for a second she had stopped chatting with me. We stayed in touch. I never once thought of not doing so. I learned a lot about myself. I am far more loyal than most. I take the time to do things most do not. I have far more patience and trust than I ever knew.

Oh, and she tells me I am incredibly biased. Because I am. I'll believe in her until my last breath. I'll tell anyone that asks she has greatness in her. Because she does.

Last DEC, things changed again. She is in programs that treat her like a child. I send her cards, and she rarely gets them. We both get frustrated with her situation. But through it all, we chat. We have never had more than a minor spat. She has never met the Rambling wife or son (well, she did check them out at the store 12 years ago) but speaks of them like family. We do too. She hopes to return to WI to be close to her kids this summer. Time will tell. Distance has never got in the way. It won't in the future.

These are the good old days. Some folks are just too busy wishing the streets were paved with gold to enjoy the good times.

Whatever strikes me as
interesting, and serious Milwaukee Brewers thoughts. If you are a believer
in respecting OBP, throwing strikes, and keeping the ball in the park,
you may have found the place you've been searching for. I believe in low taxes, small government, and am not afraid to be labeled patriotic. If you are interested in sausage race results, walk up music, or professional wrestling, you may wish to click elsewhere.

I'm happy to pay taxes to help the helpless. I don't like paying taxes to help the clueless. Look at the Occupy movement...I'm forced to pay taxes to help those whose plight I delight in.--Dennis Miller

If you choose the path of terror, your life will be empty, and your life will be brief.--President Trump

Never have lives less lived been more chronicled.--Dennis Miller

I’m going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.--Mad Dog Mattis

I have never understood why it is "greed" to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else's money.--Thomas Sowell